Evaluation of an Immersive Haptic Virtual Reality Platform for Upper Limb Functional Rehabilitation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17979/ja-cea.2025.46.12151Keywords:
Assistive technology and rehabilitation engineering, Human and Robot Mechatronics, Multi-modal interaction, Robotics technology, Work in real and virtual environmentsAbstract
This work presents the development of a haptic virtual reality platform for upper limb rehabilitation, aimed at patients with acquired brain injury. The system integrates a haptic device (TouchTM) with two visualization modes: a conventional monitor and a head-mounted display (HMD). Three mini-games with specific therapeutic goals were designed and implemented in an immersive environment developed in Unity. Fourteen healthy participants were evaluated under two visualization conditions (2D and HMD) using a counterbalanced protocol. Results indicate that the type of visualization significantly affects performance in tasks requiring depth perception, but not in the other two games. Furthermore, participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the experience. This platform shows promising potential for clinical application, although limitations such as the small sample size and the restricted workspace of the haptic device are acknowledged.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Cisnal, Miguel Fernández Jaramillo, Javier Pérez Turiel, Juan Carlos Fraile
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